March's Nutshell Messages

March 9
Gospel: John 11:1-45 (Raising Lazarus God gives life)
Fourth Beatitude: Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.
Nutshell: Bee GRATE-full

This week, we look at being grateful as our nutshell message. This is a terrific word to work into your daily language with your child. You could of course liken it to being thankful and link it to things you may already do, like saying grace or thanking God in a prayer at night. In this week and the next, think about ways to use the word ‘grateful’ daily in your lives. (We’ll try it, too!) Try using our Family Gratitude Journal as a springboard for discussion and prayer.* You could choose to tell what you’re thankful for about each person at the dinner table as fun family gathering (My family says they dread this at Thanksgiving, but I have a feeling they secretly enjoy it!) Retelling the gospel story of the Raising of Lazarus is an interesting way to explore feeling with your children, too. Talk about how Jesus was happy with his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus and how worried they were as he became ill. Finally, of course they were sad when he passed. Try singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” by adjusting the feeling and the actions (for instance, if you’re sad, you start to cry). Exploring and accepting feeling is challenging but worthwhile, I suspect. J

*Due to the snow, we were unable to meet on March 9^th. As such, the children will receive the Family Gratitude Journal on March 30^th as a take-home craft.

March 30
Gospel: John 20:19-31
Fifth Beatitude: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Nutshell: Bee MERCY-full

Although we won’t be meeting for Easter, you will each be in our prayers until we meet again on March 30 when we examine “Being Merciful”. Having mercy and giving mercy is a gift God gives us that we can also give one another. Think about and discuss how your family forgives and asks for forgiveness. You may even talk about formal ways the church recognizes forgiveness. Jesus’ resurrection is a very difficult concept for little ones, but I like the idea of Jesus’ resurrection promising new life for us – not only heaven but also the promise of peace and love when we follow Jesus and his teachings. Take a nature walk and see that winter is beginning to be merciful on us, giving us hope of new life in nature. Another idea to try is this: read a book with obvious good and bad characters, like Little Red Riding Hood or something similar. Then, begin to try to see the book from the wolf’s, or ‘bad guy’s’ point of view, even try saying, “That wolf must have been in a bad mood, what do you think might him want to hurt Riding Hood?” We don’t excuse behavior, but try to understand in order to forgive. Talking about the Golden Rule and how your child treats others hopefully creates responsibility and accountability for your child’s actions.